The invention relates, in general, to sewing machines and attachments therefore and, more particularly, to a device for stitching tape or the like to a base material and simultaneously trimming the edge of the base material along a line closely adjacent the line of stitches.
The concept of trimming the marginal edge of a lowermost workpiece while attaching a strip of tape or the like is a fairly well developed art. With this operation, the presser foot assembly is usually provided with a finger like extension which is adapted to intervene between the tape and the workpiece so as to assure that the former will not be trimmed or snagged by the action of the undertrimmer. The operation of sewing a tape or the like of premeasured length to a workpiece has given rise to special problems. When sewing a pre-measured length of tape, it is of utmost necessity that the lateral edges of the tape and the workpiece, to which the tape is to be sewn, be perfectly aligned. If the lateral edges are not aligned, an excess or shortage of tape at the starting end will, of course, result in a corresponding equal displacement of tape at the opposite end--an undesirable as well as unacceptable result. With the pressure foot having a finger like extension provided at the front of the foot, placement of the juxtaposed edges in close proximity to the needle is a difficult and time consuming process which usually includes raising the presser foot from its operative position. Without raising the presser foot, the juxtaposed edges have to be started at some point removed from the sewing station. Because the edges are started in a position removed from the path of the needle means, the operator can not be assured that the lateral edges of the tape and workpiece will remain aligned by the time they are fed to the sewing station. Only the skill of the operator will assure an acceptable finished workpiece.
In closed seam operations, such as waistbands or applying tape to a slip bottom, still further problems arise. When nearing the completion of the seam with a standard presser foot, the finger like means interposed between the tape and workpiece abuts the initial starting point of the seam and, thus, the seam is prevented from passing under the presser foot. Thus, the operator needs to reposition the tape and workpiece consuming valuable time in an attempt to finish the closed seam. In closed seam operations, some operators have found it preferable to sew on the tape and then manually trim the lowermost marginal edge. Of course, this added manual operation increases the number of operations needed to be performed on the workpiece and, as a result, increases the amount of time it takes to produce a finished garment thus increasing the cost.